Use this list to start exploring themes that relate California to music. The following musicians, composers, and bands are representative of "Californian music" across several genres and styles. Many are native to the state, and others had significant portions of their artistic output associated with California.
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Early Jazz (pre 1950) |
California Ramblers Quality Serenaders Louis Jordan
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Woody Herman Stan Kenton Nat King Cole Al Jolson |
Hoagy Carmichael Johnny Mercer Jerome Kern |
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Hard Bop Jazz (1950's and after) |
Billy Higgins Eric Dolphy |
Dexter Gordon Charles Mingus
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Bobby Hutcherson |
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West Coast Jazz ("Cool Jazz"--1950's) |
Dave Brubeck
Paul Desmond
Jimmy Giuffre
Stan Getz
Chet Baker
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Gerry Mulligan Bud Shank Shorty Rogers Dexter Gordon |
Tom Scott The Crusaders Charles Lloyd Zoot Simms |
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Classical |
Harry Partch Henry Cowell Lou Harrison John Cage Terry Riley LaMonte Young
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Roy Harris Andrew Imbrie Pauline Oliveros Charles Seeger Bernard Herrmann |
European émigrés: Igor Stravinsky Arnold Schoenberg Ernest Bloch Darius Milhaud Dane Rudhyar |
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Sunshine Pop (1960’s) |
Harpers Bizarre Sagittarius The Turtles The 5th Dimension |
The Sopwith Camel The Mamas & The Papas The Millennium |
The Association The Beach Boys The Monkees The Grass Roots
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Psychedellic Pop (late 60’s) |
The Strawberry Alarm Clock
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Jefferson Airplane Iron Butterfly
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Steppenwolf Moby Grape |
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Psychedellic Rock (late 60’s – 70’s) |
Quicksilver Messenger Service
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Love The Doors
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The Mothers of Invention (Frank Zappa) |
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Other Rock/Pop (1960’s – 1980’s) |
Buffalo Springfield The Doobie Brothers The Grateful Dead The Eagles Santana
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Captain Beefheart Tom Waits Sly & the Family Stone Tower of Power
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Neil Young Jackson Browne Joni Mitchell Sonny & Cher Steely Dan |
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Punk (California, late 70’s-80’s) |
Black Flag The Germs Circle Jerks Fear
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The Plugz The Dickies The Dead Kennedys
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The Minutemen Descendents The Cramps |
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Pop Metal (1980's "Glam Metal") |
Metallica Slayer Megadeth
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Van Halen Quiet Riot Ratt |
Mötley Crüe Dokken
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